but the cash we’d receive wouldn’t last forever. When it ran out, what would we do? How would we support ourselves?”
“One of us could find a husband and get married.” Adela’s curls bobbed up and down as she nodded her head, the chestnut strands shimmering in the stream of sunlight spilling through the window.
She made a stark contrast to Mattie right now.
“I doubt any man would want to take me as a wife, looking like this.”
But it was no great loss since she didn’t particularly want a husband anyway. At least, not right now. If circumstances forced her to marry in haste, she wouldn’t have a chance to truly get to know her bridegroom first. To place herself and Adela completely under a man’s power without being absolutely certain of his character was unthinkable.
Mattie had made a narrow escape back in Saint Louis and wouldn’t make the same mistake again, judging a man by outward appearances without taking the time to discover if the inside matched his outer facade.
Hopefully her fifteen-year-old sister had learned from Mattie’s error, as well. “Do you want to marry a strange man and put your trust in him?”
The younger girl shook her head, clearly recognizing the pitfalls in that arrangement.
Mattie grasped her sister’s hands. “This is the only way.”
But Adela still looked doubtful. And with good reason.
Though their biggest obstacle—convincing the wagon master to let them join the wagon train—had been overcome, any number of other things could go wrong in the coming days.
Even if no one else knew it, they were two women alone, with only God’s protection against whatever dangers they faced.
Would she and Adela be up to the journey ahead?
“It’s not too late to change your mind, Mattie.”
Adela’s words echoed Mattie’s inner doubts as she surveyed the wagons and oxen teams lined up at the Missouri River’s ferry crossing.
Was she making a mistake?
She hadn’t thought so a short time ago when their covered wagon had arrived at the boardinghouse as promised. While Mattie stayed out of sight, Adela had overseen the loading of their trunks without incident, and they were quickly under way.
Now, however, Mattie’s earlier confidence was suffering a decided downturn.
She shifted her gaze to focus on her sister. Adela certainly didn’t look like a girl about to embark on an arduous four or five month journey. She was decked out in a fancy costume complete with frilly parasol, as if going for a casual jaunt around the park.
Before his passing, their father had purchased practical garments suitable for travel for himself and his daughters. Mattie, seeing little sense in hanging on to remnants of the past, had gotten rid of anything she wouldn’t need in her new life. But Adela had flatly refused to part with so much as a lacy hankie from her wardrobe, despite the fact that wagon space was limited and expensive fabrics had no place on the trail.
It wasn’t surprising she’d dug in her heels over the issue, however, since she’d been against this trip from the start. She hadn’t wanted to give up their life in Saint Louis.
And Mattie felt personally responsible for her unhappiness. The family’s financial decline was a direct result of choices Mattie had made.
But neither her guilt nor Adela’s objections could restore what they’d lost. That life was gone, whether they returned to the city or not. Adela would have to come to terms with their changed circumstances.
Their best hope for a bright and joyous future lay ahead in Oregon Country.
Taking a deep breath, Mattie stiffened her own flagging resolve. “We can’t go back. And remember to call me ‘Matt.’ No one can know the truth.” She didn’t want to consider what might happen if Adela accidentally called her Mattie in front of anyone.
“I’m sorry. It just slipped out. But I’ll be more careful. I promise.”
Mattie steered the oxen toward the end of the line and drew them to a halt behind the last wagon. The lowing of cattle and whiny of horses mixed with the sound of people shouting and whips cracking, creating a cacophony of noise.
Several minutes passed without any movement forward.
Adela fanned herself with one lace-gloved hand and huffed out an impatient sigh. “How long will we have to wait for our turn to cross the river?”
Scanning the dozen or so covered wagons waiting ahead of them, Mattie shook her head in answer. “I don’t know.”
“Hours, most like,” a male voice interjected.
Mattie turned toward the speaker and recognized the bearded man who had pointed out Miles Carpenter to her the previous day. Of medium height and build, he looked to be in his forties or fifties.
He nudged the brim of his hat up to scratch his temple. “It’ll take the better part of the day to get all twenty-five wagons across the river. But it gives folks a chance to get to know each other. The name’s Jed Smith.”
Mattie hesitated to reply. Each encounter with other travelers held the potential for disaster if her ruse was exposed. But living in such close quarters over the next few months looked to make any attempts at completely dodging conversation an impossibility.
Grudgingly, she accepted Jed’s outstretched hand and again introduced herself as Matt Prescott, knowing she would be called on to do tasks so many times over the next several days.
The deception was already wearing on her, and it had only just begun. Would it get any easier in time? Probably not. But she couldn’t let that discourage her.
Jed squinted against the glare of the sun as he surveyed Mattie and Adela. “Seeing as how you joined the wagon train only yesterday, I’d guess you haven’t had occasion to meet many of our fellow travelers yet.”
“No, we haven’t,” Adela replied. “Are all these people making the journey?”
“Yep.” Jed hooked his thumbs under his suspenders and shifted his stance, indicating he planned to stay and chat for a while. “All told, our group’s about two dozen families. Mostly farmers, like myself and the Bakers with their brood of six, and Thomas Malone, a widower with a pair apiece of teenage offspring—two boys, and two gals about your age, missy.”
“By any chance, would that be the two tall, blonde girls standing by the covered wagon near the head of the line?” Adela questioned.
Jed glanced in that direction and nodded. “That’s them.”
Mattie reached for Adela’s arm and gave it a slight squeeze as a subtle signal to shush her.
The younger girl simply shook off her hold, however. “And who is that
